'My heart-transplant dad was electrocuted - please help me buy him a decent headstone' begs Milton Keynes daughter
A daughter whose father survived being electrocuted and a heart transplant has put out an appeal to. help buy him a decent headstone.
Railway worker Lionel Townsend fought death twice before he finally passed away.
The first time, at the age of 32, he was electrocuted on the railway and had 25,000 volts go through his body, leaving him “burnt to a crisp,” said his daughter Tara Plummer.
He spent 18 months in Stoke Mandeville hospital, slowly recovering.
Then, years later, Lionel developed breathing problems and needed a full heart and lung transplant. This took place in 1988 and he lived a further five years before he passed away in 1993.
"My father endured so much in his life,” said Tara this week. “He was a great inspiration to me and brought me up as a child after my parents split up.”
After Lionel died, Tara could only afford a simple wooden cross for his grave. Now she longs to replace the humble memorial with a proper headstone.
"Time has worn the cross away, but my love for him remains as strong as ever,” she said.
"Now, as the owner of my father's grave, I am determined to give him the headstone he truly deserves – a lasting tribute to a man who endured so much yet gave nothing but love in return…I am humbly asking for support in this journey.”
Tara has started a fundraising page, hoping to raise £1,250 goal for a headstone. You can view the page here.